Pacquiao, who Arum promotes, will make one more appearance in 2012 - a November date with, in all probability, Timothy Bradley or Juan Manuel Marquez - but 2013 is a blank canvas, and Arum has put forward Mayweather's name.

The unbeaten American is currently serving a jail sentence for domestic assault, and has pledged to be more active than in recent years when he gets out, making two 2013 appearances a possibility.

The most significant stumbling block in front of a Mayweather v Pacquiao fight has been the issue of how to distribute the pay-per-view cash: Mayweather reportedly wants to take home the entirety of it - a proposition Pacquiao is unwilling to agree to.

Arum has been pushing for a compromise - and it seems he is confident the two rivals will finally get it on next year. "Pacquiao will have another fight this year [November 10] and then look forward to maybe two fights with Mayweather next year," Arum told boxingscene.com.

"I don't think Mayweather will be prepared to fight this year, because it looks like he will be in prison for at least one or two more months. So I think that if the Mayweather fight happens it would probably happen sometime next year."